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Adolescent girls face alarming rates of intimate partner violence. Among adolescent girls who have been in a relationship, nearly a quarter (24%) – close to 19 million – will have experienced physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence by the time they turn 20 years old, as highlighted by a new analysis from the World Health Organization (WHO) published today in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health. Almost 1 in 6 (16%) experienced such violence in the past year.

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) launched this toolkit, developed in collaboration with multiple countries, experts and the support of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation. The kit, available in English and Spanish, includes key messages for health policymakers and managers interested in strengthening health administrative data on violence. Countries will be able to draw on a regional template for capturing data on intimate partner violence/sexual violence and care given to survivors, equipping health workers with practical tools to enhance the quality and consistency of the health system response.

The 2010 earthquake in Haiti left the already impoverished country in a state of crisis. As years passed by reconstruction seemed like an unattainable task and violence, crime and poverty where taking away the happiness and hopes of the Haitian people. The destruction of the education system and therefore the weakening of the system meant a condition of ignorance on many topics, being sexual education one of the most affected. When institutions can’t cope the needs of the citizens and there’s a misconception of what sexuality means, sex is then transformed as an exchangeable good. Women, adolescents and girls found themselves in an atmosphere of fear, uncertainty and impunity which normalizes violence in all of its forms, being sexual violence the most relevant one. The work of the Canadian and Haitian Red Cross has been to put in place cultural programs that de-normalize violence and empower young leaders to be agents of transformation in their communities.

Youth violence does not “just happen”. On the contrary, whether in the shape of bullying at school, alcohol-related violence in bars, clubs and private spaces, gang violence, or violence associated with the illegal drug trade, youth violence is often predictable and therefore preventable.

This report focuses on interpersonal violence, which is violence that occurs between family members, intimate partners, friends, acquaintances and strangers, and includes child maltreatment, youth violence, intimate partner violence, sexual violence and elder abuse.